Maybe he was just looking for a ride?

[Valigator]

7-foot-long alligator captured after it wanders into Pompano neighborhood

By Jean-Paul Renaud
Staff Writer
Posted April 19 2005

Maybe the alligator that wandered into a Pompano Beach neighborhood Monday, faced with the arrival of mating season, was looking for love. Instead, it bit a state official on both hands.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Officer Hank Juntunen found the 7-foot reptile sitting under a car in the 1400 block of Northwest 31st Avenue. When he tried to capture the animal, it bit him. Officials expect him to recover.

The alligator will be turned over to a trapper, who will "mount his head, tan his hide and sell the meat."

"When they start associating humans with food, that's when problems start with the public," said Willie Puz of the Fish and Wildlife Commission